Automatic lifting mechanism



1943- P. c. GRUNWELL ETAL 2,335,272

i AUTOMATIC LIFTING MECHANISM Filed July 30, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Paul C. Grunwe/I Arf/QUJ' H. Nolan,

NOV. 30, 1943. P Q GRUNWELL r 2,335,272

AUTOMATIC LIFTING MECHANISM .emn well 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "c'. Ar/h um H. Nolan Paul Filed July 30, 1941 Patented Nov. 30, 1943 2,335,272 AUTOMATIC LIFTING -l\IECHANISM iaul C. Grunwell and Arthur H. Nolan, St. Louis, Mo.

Application July 30, 1941, Serial No.404,586

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended'April 30, 1928; 370 '0. (3.757)

6 Claims.

This invention described herein may be menufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to hoisting apparatus, but more particularly to a hoisting device provided with an improved mechanismfor automatically picking up a load and releasing the same when it is lowered upona supporting surface.

The pick-up mechanism as herein described is particularly adaptable for use with cranes for the placing of bulkheads in locks and dams, but it may also be used in handling any object where ,an automatic pick-up and release mechanism is required. 7

One object of the device is to provide a simple, easily operated, and ruggedly constructed automatic handling device for raising and lowering bulkheads and for releasing the same at the bottom of their guideways.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pick-up and release device of this character which may be actuated beyond the vision of the operator and which is entirely automatic in operation.

With these and other objects in view, this in,- vention consists in certain novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be more particularly hereinafter described and claimed.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a lifting beam adapted to be raised, lowered and transported by a crane, coupling members connected to said beam and adapted to automatically engage and disengage complementary coupling members attached to a bulkhead, and a manually controlled mechanism coacting with the beamcarried coupling members to automatically effect their engagement or disengagement with respect to the coupling members associated with the bulkhead.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings in which corresponding parts are indicated by similar reference characters:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a lifting beam copied to a bulkhead, the beam and bulkhead being partially sectionized to show the construction of the coupling members and the control mechanism associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a perspective showing an assembly of an engaging hook and the control mechanism associated therewith, and adjustable couplings;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectionized view showing hooks iii and H! be relatively adjusted .of the top of the teeth the beam and bulkhead with the hook being shoved-into engaging position;

Fig. 4 is a view si ilar tothat shown in li ig. with the hook in engaged position;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 3, with the hook being moved in to disengaging position;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 3, with the hook in disengaged position;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view showing a hook in conjunction with a modified form of segmental ratchet formed independent of the hook; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View showing a modified form of the device in which the hooks are connected by links to toothed segments to effect simultaneous movement thereof.

Referring to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the apparatus comprises a pair of latch ,or lifting keyed to a common shaft it which is rotatably mounted at the center of gravity of a beam l4, the latter being suspended from a crane (not shown) by the cables l5 and i5 and adapted to be lowered upon the top of a bulkhead It.

The shaft is formed in two sections to and 5! united by a coupling 52, including relatively adjustable flanges 53 and 54. The flanges 54 are formed with an equal number of holes equally spaced on circles of equal radii so that they will register with each other when the flanges are brought together. With this construction the sections 59 and 5! of the shaft may until the hooks iii and Hi brought into simultaneous 53 and attached thereto are engagementwith pick-up lugs 25 and 2d and the flanges .53 and 5d are connected to retain the hooks intheir adjusted position by bolts 55.

In this connection itis to be understood that other adjusting means other than that just described may be used when such use is deemed necessary.

The latch hook H) is provided with a segmental ratchet H which is formed with ratchet teeth l8 extending over a portion of the segment and an arcuate cam surface l9 extending at the level iii to an arcuate extremityof the segment. The hooks Ill and iii are provided with laterally extending brackets 2i} and 2a to each of-which a guide pin is pivotally attached. The pins project through openings in brackets 22 and 22 projecting from transverse walls 23 and 23' located within the frame structure of the beam It. The pins are surrounded .22 and .22 and thereby tend to move the-hooks spectively, which will be further nected with -26 forces the hooks m and H3 into engaged position with respect to pick-up lugs 24 and 24' attached to the bulkhead. These pick-up lugs are provided with upper and lower cam surfaces or ramps 26, 2t and 21, 2'! re described in the description of the operation of the device.

A pawl actuating spring 28 is mounted on a pin pivotally connected to the pawl 29 and pro- J'ecting through an opening in the bracket 22. The pawl spring abuts the pawl and the bracket 22 and tends to move the pawl into engagement with the segmental ratchet H. The pawl 29 is fulcrumed towards its center and gage the teeth l8 of the ratchet over the cam surface it of the segmental portion of the hoo In order to control the movement of the pawl 29 from the end of the beam I4 a link 30 isconnected to the pawl 29, the'other endof link 38 being pivotally attached to a bell crank lever 3| mounted on the beam i l. The bell crank 3| is connected throughanother link 32 to a lever 33 also mounted on the beam and the lever 33 is in turn connected with a setting lever 34 which may be locked in either of two positions by engagement with a ratchet 35, the engaging members consisting of a locking lever 36 cona link 37, one end of said link 37 being adapted to project'within either of the grooves 38 or 39 in the ratchet 35.

Instead of forming the segmental ratchet integral with the hook l0, it may be formed as a separate unit H which is fastened to the shaft H, as shown'in Fig. 7.

To prevent horizontal movement of the beam M with respect to the bulkhead i6 guide memare attached'to the beam N and project downward ings.

To pick up the bulkhead in the storage yard, the pawl setting lever 35 is raised to notch 38. This raises pawl 29 from ratchet H and allows hooks l and It to move without restriction. The device is then lowered over the bulkhead I6, as shown in Fig. 3. Hooks land it! strike the top ramps 26'and 26' on lugs 24 and 24.

adapted to en l1, and to slide therefrom for engagement with the lugs 24 and 24 as shown in the'draw- The Weight of the beam M on the ramps 26 and and shaft IN to rotate, compressing springs 2| and 2|, thereby passing top ramps 26 and 26'. Horizontal movement of the device is prevented by guides 4| and 4| engaging the back of lugs 24 and 2d. The

device is lowered until beam M rests on bulk head I6, thus causing the hooks to contact lower ramps 21 and 21 and be again rotated as shown dotted in Fig. 3. When the lifting cables show slack to the operator the downward travel of the device is complete, and the device can then be raised. Springs 2| and 2| force the hooks to follow up the lower ramp and intoengagement with stirrups 49 and 48', as'shown in Fig. 4. The bulkhead is now suspended on the latch hooks, ready for transportation to a desired location.

After the bulkhead is raised to its carrying position, pawl setting lever St is lowered to notch 39. This in turn lowers pawl 29 to the cam surface I9 of ratchet H. The bulkhead and device is placed in the desired pier slots located on the upstream side of the dam and is lowered until the bulkhead strikes sill 42, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, or a previously placed bulkhead. The weight of the beam forces hooks l0 and Ill down the bottom ramps 27 and '27 of lugs 24 and 24,

forcing the hooks H] and it and shaft H to adapted to retain the same in a tudinal axis of the frame M rotate, thus the teeth |8 in ratchet II, which prevents springs 2| and 2| from forcing the hooks l0 and Hi back into engagement with the latching lugs 24 and 24'. When beam Hi strikes bulkhead l6 and the lifting cables show slack to the operator, the unlatching operation is complete, and the beam can then be raised, leaving the bulkhead in a desired position.

To remove the bulkheads I6 from the slots in the dam, the same sequence of operation as described above for Pickup of bulkheads at the storage points is used.

In the modified form of the, device shown in Fig. 8, the lifting hooks and B0 are pivotally mounted at right angles to the longiand are connected by drag links El, and 62, 62' to pivotally mounted intermediate toothed segments 63, 63, which couple the hooks for simultaneous movement to eifect engagement and disengagement of the pick-uplugs. The hook 60 is provided with a segmental ratchet 64 of similar construction as the segment H, and which is engaged by a pawl, (not shown) in the same manner as explained above and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7. The

member provided with a ratchet attached to said shaft, a pawl pivotally connected to said beam, a

ment with said cam member, and a manually operated control means, including a setting lever adapted to retain said pawl from engagement with 7 said cam to permit the free movement of said upper ramp of said commembers on said bulkhead,

the bulkhead from the beam.

2. An automatic pick-up and release mechanism comprising, a lifting beam, aligned sectional shafts mounted longitudinally within the beam, coupling means for the shaft sections, hooks keyed to the respective shaft sections, a bulkhead, means for connecting the lifting beam to the bulkhead, said means including lugs formed with upper and lower ramps, adapted to be engaged by said hooks, springs connected with said hooks position for ecu-- pling engagement with said lugs, 21. segmental cam member provided with a ratchet attached to said shaft, a pawl pivotally connected to said beam, a spring adapted to move said pawl into engagement with said cam member, and a manually operated control means, including a setting lever adapted to hold said pawl out of engagement with permitting pawl 29 to engage with 7 said cam to permit the free movement of said hooks to engage the upper ramp of said complementary coupling members on said bulkhead, and to release said pawl for engagement with said cam by the action of said cam spring and to allow said hooks to be moved out of engagement with the complementary coupling members by contact with the lower ramps thereon and to be retained in said position to effect release of the bulkhead from the beam.

3. An automatic pick-up and release mechanism comprising, a lifting beam, aligned sectional shafts mounted longitudinally within the beam, coupling means for the shaft sections, said coupling means including relatively adjustable flanges, hooks keyed to the respective shaft sections, a bulkhead, means for connecting the lifting beam to the bulkhead, said means including lugs formed with upper and lower ramps adapted to be engaged by said hooks, springs connected with said hooks adapted to retain the same in a position for coupling engagement with said lugs, a segmental cam member provided with a ratchet attached to said shaft, a pawl pivotally connected to said beam, a spring adapted to move said pawl into engagement with said cam member, and a manually operated control means, including a setting lever adapted to hold said pawl out of engagement with said cam to permit the free movement of said hooks to engage the upper ramp of said complementary coupling members on said bulkhead, and to release said pawl for engagement with said cam by the action of said cam spring and to allow said hooks to be moved out of engagement with the complementary coupling members by contact with the lower ramps thereon and to be retained in said position to effect release of the bulkhead from the beam.

4. An automatic pick-up and release mechanism including a lifting beam, spring-pressed lifting hooks pivotally mounted on said beam and adapted to engage and disengage lug members mounted upon bulkheads, said lug members being provided with upper ramps having stirrups adapted to be engaged by said hooks on lowering the beam to loading position, and lower ramps adapted to move said hooks out of engaging position with respect to said stirrups on lowering the beam below loadingposition, and means including an arcuate ratchet connected to said hooks and a manually controlled pawl pivotally connected to said beam for automatically effecting the retention of said hooks from engaging position and thereby effect clearanc of the stirrups on elevation of the beam and release of the bulkhead.

, 5. An automatic pick-up and release mechanism including a lifting beam, lifting hooks pivotally mounted on said beam and adapted to engage and disengage lug members mounted upon bulkheads, said lug members being provided with upper ramps having stirrups adapted to be engaged by said hooks on lowering the beam to loading position, and lower ramps adapted to move said hooks out of engaging position with respect to said stirrups on lowering the beam below loading position, and means for automatically effecting the retention of said hooks from engaging position and thereby effect clearance of the stirrups on elevation of the beam and release of the bulkhead.

6. An automatic pick-up and release mechanism including a lifting beam, lifting hooks pivotally mounted on said beam and adapted to engage and disengage lug members mounted upon bulkheads, said lug members being provided with upper ramps having stirrups adapted to be engaged by said hooks on lowering the beam to loading position, and lower ramps adapted to move said hooks out of engaging position with respect to said stirrups on lowering the beam below loading position, and means including a ratchet connected to said hooks and a manually controlled pawl pivotally connected to said beam for automatically effecting the retention of said hooks from engaging position and thereby effect clearance of the stirrups on elevation of the beam and release of the bulkhead.

PAUL C. GRUNWELL. ARTHUR H. NOLAN. 

